Wednesday, 7 February:

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs VfL Gummersbach (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Both opponents are neighbors in the table: the warriors from Hanover are sixth with 19:19 points, one place ahead of VfL Gummersbach with 18:18 points; the first leg ended in a 33:33 draw after a Gummersbach comeback.
• Both teams lost their last game before the EHF EURO break each against MT Melsungen, Hannover with 30:34, Gummersbach with 25:26.
• The Recken have won all of the last six HBL duels against VfL, with a total of 12 wins for Hanover, four draws and six wins for Gummersbach.
• In the cup quarter-finals, VfL Gummersbach narrowly failed with a 29:31 defeat at Füchse Berlin.
• No player from either club is among the top 20 HBL top scorers: Milos Vujovic (Gummersbach) is in 22nd place with 80 goals, Marius Steinhauser (Hannover) is in 30th place with 30 goals.

FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs TVB Stuttgart (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• Stuttgart won the reverse fixture at the beginning of November with 31:29, but with 13:25 points they are in 15th place, three points and five places below tenth-placed Frisch Auf (16:22).
• In the previous season, both Swabian derbies were absolutely even and ended with a 24:24 in the state capital and a 25:24 for the TVB in Göppingen. In total, Frisch Auf has won nine of 17 duels so far, TVB has won five.
• Göppingen had collected seven of its 16 points in the last five games before the EHF EURO break, including 3 points against the top teams from Flensburg and Berlin; TVB surprised at the end of December with a 32:31 win over Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
• Stuttgart's most successful scorer Kai Häfner (103 goals) meets his former club, for whom Tim Kneule is playing his 498th HBL game in his farewell season.

HSG Wetzlar vs ThSV Eisenach (19:00 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide on HBL TV)

• With three wins in a row – against Melsungen, Leipzig and Bergischen HC – HSG Wetzlar had moved well away from the relegation zone before the European Championship. Eisenach also ended 2023 with two wins – against Erlangen and the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
• Wetzlar, ninth in the table, have 17:21 points on their account, Eisenach is still second to last with 13:25 points, but is tied on points with three other teams.
• Three of the ten best HBL scorers lock horns in this game: Eisenach's Manuel Zehnder is number one with 148 goals, followed in seventh and tenth place by Wetzlar's Domen Nowak (109) and Lenny Rubin (104).
• Wetzlar won the reverse fixture in Eisenach 27:23 – it was HSG's fifth win in a row over the Thuringians since 2013. A total of 11 Wetzlar victories compare to four Eisenach victories.

THW Kiel vs SC Magdeburg (20:30 CET, live on Dyn and worldwide FOR FREE on HBL TV)  

• THW Kiel are fifth in the table with 26:10 points, six points below the leaders from Magdeburg (32:4).
• SCM have been unbeaten in the LIQUI MOLY HBL since 6 September (defeat in Berlin) and also won the reverse fixture at home 34:31. THW have won all of its last seven HBL games.
• With the clear 34:24 victory in the new edition of last year's final against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, the SCM booked the ticket for the REWE Final4 of the German cup, THW Kiel had already been eliminated early in the cup by HSG Wetzlar.
• THW Kiel is the only HBL club that has a French European champion in its ranks: goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene, plus silver medalist Magnus Landin (Denmark) and the Swedish European Championship third-placed Eric Johansson and Karl Wallinius. The Danish vice-European champions Magnus Saugstrup and Michael Damgaard as well as the Swedish bronze medalists Albin Lagergren, Felix Claar, Oscar Bergendahl and Daniel Petterson play for SCM. As the best defensive player, Saugstrup was even part of the all-star team.
• In 64 Bundesliga duels so far, THW have won 37 times, SCM 20 times, seven games ended in a draw. In the previous season there was a 34:34 in Kiel and a 34:33 home win for Magdeburg, besides, SCM defeated Kiel in the 2023 cup quarter-finals.
• Two Magdeburg players are ahead of Kiel's best scorer Niklas Ekberg (78 goals) in the HBL top scorers list: Omar Ingi Magnusson (113) and Felix Claar (101).

Thursday, 8 February:

HC Erlangen vs TBV Lemgo-Lippe (19:00 CET, live on Dyn)

• Both teams had only won one of their last five HBL games before the European Championship; Erlangen against Stuttgart, Lemgo against Eisenach.
• The hosts are currently 15th with 13:23 points, TBV have two plus points more in twelfth position.
• Lemgo narrowly won the reverse fixture 28:27, overall, TBV won eight times against, HCE won four times, three games ended in a draw.
• Lemgo's Swiss Samuel Zehnder is still one goal short of his 100th goal of the season.

 Füchse Berlin vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (20:30 CET, live on Dyn)

• Füchse are level on points with SC Magdeburg second in the table with 32:4 points, four points ahead of third-placed SG Flensburg-Handewitt.
• Both teams have won four of their last five HBL games, the only exceptions being games against Göppingen: Füchse tied, the Flensburg team lost at Frisch Auf.
• In the previous season, Füchse remained unbeaten against SG with a 37:33 home win and a 31:31 in Flensburg. Overall, the Berliners only won six of the 36 HBL duels against SG so far, lost 24 times and drew six times.
• Both teams have qualified for the REWE Final4 on 13/14. April in Cologne: Flensburg clearly won their quarter-final 37:25 against the Handball Sport Verein Hamburg, Füchse prevailed with 31:29 against VfL Gummersbach.
• In Mathias Gidsel (141 goals) and Lasse Andersson (125), Berlin currently have the HBL's second-best and fourth-best scorers in their squad. Gidsel was the EHF EURO top scorer with 54 goals and also an all-star team member. The best SG scorer is Emil Jakobsen in seventh place with 107 strikes.
• A total of seven Danes who won the silver medal at the EHF EURO, are in the squads of both teams: Emil Jakobsen, Mads Mensah, Johan Hansen, Lukas Jörgensen, Simon Pytlick (all Flensburg) as well as Hans Lindberg and Mathias Gidsel (both Berlin). There are also the Swedish European Championship third-placed Jim Gottfridsson (Flensburg) and Max Darj (Füchse).

Photo: Popova